Bosch will install a Central-Eastern-European regional logistic centre in Hatvan as of 2018, and some 250 new jobs will be created through the project, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced at a press conference on Thursday in Budapest.
The Minister highlighted: Bosch will rent an area of 60 thousand square metres from the Hungarian State via the private share company Nemzeti Ipari Park Üzemeltető és Fejlesztő Zrt. for a period of 16 years, and the private share company will create an industrial park to the highest technological standards from an investment of HUF 17 billion in the vicinity of the town of Hatvan.
As part of the agreement, the company has pledged to increase the value of its procurements from Hungarian suppliers by EUR 60 million in the next 6 years. The Hungarian Government seeks to promote small and medium-sized businesses with this provision, he stressed.
Mr Szijjártó told the press that, with the installation of its logistic centre in Hungary, Bosch will be the foreign production company with the highest number of employees in Hungary: it will provide jobs for 14.7 thousand people. This indicates that Bosch has long-term plans in Hungary, and the Government, too, has long-term plans with Bosch, the Minister said.
He highlighted that ten subsidiaries of Bosch operate in Hungary, and the company’s total sales amounted to HUF 960 billion in 2015. The development in question is essential for a changeover to the new, digital industrial era. The new patriotic US economic policy, Brexit and the expansion of the Chinese economy all project the emergence of a new situation in the world economy which requires a new strategy, the Minister argued.
He added that the Government is implementing a new strategy not only in the new fiscal regime, the promotion of new investments or the establishment of a new work force training system, but also in the keen competition in logistics. This is why Bosch’s decision on the establishment of the logistic centre is important.
The Government set up Nemzeti Ipari Park Zrt. in order to develop industrial parks in the country which have infrastructure facilities and transport connections that are able to offer the highest technological standards.
Mr Szijjártó also mentioned that the Government is cooperating with the company in the spirit of strategic partnership, and continues to remain open to consultation with all large companies operating in Hungary in order to ensure that the most advantageous project regulatory environment should be developed in the region.
Zsolt Szabó, State Secretary for development and climate policy and priority public services said: Hatvan and Bosch have a joint history of twenty years, and the new plant that will open in a year’s time will reinforce this relationship and will enhance Hungary’s reputation in the world. As part of the development, the parties involved will develop a dual training system locally, there will also be progress in the settlement of workers in the vicinity and the availability of housing, and the creation of rehabilitation jobs, too, will equally favour the economy and the company, he said.
Daniel Korioth, the head of the Bosch Group in Hungary pointed out that the agreement is Bosch’s most important model project in Hungary, and as a result, it will serve as a reference for the company group. With a view to the development of the new business model which will rely on the employment of highly qualified personnel with the right skills, they will rent an area of more than 60 thousand square metres in the industrial park.
This, too, demonstrates that Hungary is a particular priority for the company. They will supply the entire region with logistic services from the Hatvan headquarters. He thanked Hungary for the opportunity of playing a part in the country’s development. Bosch has been present in Hungary for more than 100 years, since 1898.
(MTI/Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
